Travelers who pass through the Minneapolis-St. International Paul Airport will soon have dozens of new restaurants and retail shops to choose from as they wait for their flights.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission on Monday selected 49 new food vendors and retail shops to open in Terminal 1-Lindbergh.

“It’s kind of a complete reshuffling of the space,” MAC spokesman Patrick Hogan said Tuesday. “You will see a number of the restaurants and shops that are here today go away as a result of this selection.”

Buffalo, N.Y.-based Delaware North was awarded two retail packages, one food and beverage package and one convenience and news package.

Under its food and beverage proposal, Delaware North plans to replace the TGI Friday’s with a new sports bar called Minnie and Paul’s Twins Grill.

The company, which also operates concessions at Target Field, plans to sell nachos, juicy lucys and local craft beer, said Kevin Kelly, president of travel and hospitality for Delaware North.

“We’re really going to be integrated with Target Field to offer similar fare,” Kelly said. “We partnered with the Twins to bring that food into the airport.”

They also plan to bring two well-known Minneapolis brands — Smack Shack and Angel Food Bakery — into the terminal as stand-alone eateries.

Their proposed retail stores, which will be distributed throughout the terminal, include a sporting goods store, a Minnesota-themed gift shop, an art store and a bookstore.

The company’s convenience and news shops, which will sell news-papers, magazines, snacks and travel items, will be named for Twin Cities neighborhoods, including Como Park Essentials and North Loop Market.

The winning proposals also included a restaurant and bar that will serve as a music venue, a full- service craft beer bar and restaurant and a food truck-style food court, MAC said in a news release.

Retail and quick-serve restaurant leases will be for eight years, full-serve restaurants for nine years and duty-free and duty-paid venues for 10 years.

“This will be the biggest change in retail operations at the airport in a decade,” Hogan said.

In March, MAC solicited proposals that would enhance participation by regional and disadvantaged businesses, expand the variety of products and prices, attract high-impact national brands and increase duty-free shopping opportunities. The commission also wanted to reflect national trends toward craft beer and cocktails, unique merchandise, and blended food and entertainment experiences.

Fifty available locations were split up into 14 packages based on venue type. There were seven food and beverage packages, four retail packages, two convenience and news store packages and one duty-free and duty-paid shop package. Companies or groups of companies submitted proposals for one or more of these packages.

Details of the proposals were discussed at the Monday meeting of MAC’s board, which can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/1fn1oIs.

Nick Woltman reports on breaking news and blogs about local history. Before joining the staff of the Pioneer Press in 2013, he worked for the Bismarck Tribune in North Dakota. He lives with his wife and two cats in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood of St. Paul.

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